Born in Noyon, France,
John Calvin studied law and theology and eventually became a priest. A
serious intelligent person, Calvin joined the reformation movement and
began developing his beliefs. He outlined his concept of protestantism in a
book entitled The Institutes of the Christian Religion. Many people
consider this work to be the definitive handbook on Protestantism. Calvin
adopted many of the basic tenets of Luthern doctrine, but he included some
ideas unique to Calvism. The most significant Calvinist addition was the
concept of Predestination. According to the theory of Predestination, an
all- powerful God had already determined whether people were going to
heaven or not when they were born. This predetermined denstiny could not be
changed during an individual's lifetime.
Lutheranism and Calvinism were the mainstream, moderate
movements of the Protsetant Reformation. However, there were many radical
groups who sought to go much further. These groups preached ideas such as
pacifism, Biblical authority, and even polygamy. Because the views of some
of these groups were so extreme, they faced attack from both Catholics and
moderate Protestants. The most radical of these groups were known as the
Anabaptists. Originally founded by Conrad Grebel, the most obvious
distinguishing feature of the Anabaptists was the practice of adult
baptism. The term Anabaptist comes from the Greek, literally "to
baptize again". Anabaptists relied heavily on the Bible as the source
of religious authority. Because the bible did not mention the practice of
infant baptism, they refused to recognize it. Instead, they believed that
it made more sense ro baptize in adulthood when people truly understood its
meaning. the first rebaptism occured in 1525
Calvinist Preacher. 16th Century. Beyond Books. Web. 9 Dec. 2009.
http://www.beyondbooks.com/eur11/3d.asp
Born in Noyon, France,
John Calvin studied law and theology and eventually became a priest. A
serious intelligent person, Calvin joined the reformation movement and
began developing his beliefs. He outlined his concept of protestantism in a
book entitled The Institutes of the Christian Religion. Many people
consider this work to be the definitive handbook on Protestantism. Calvin
adopted many of the basic tenets of Luthern doctrine, but he included some
ideas unique to Calvism. The most significant Calvinist addition was the
concept of Predestination. According to the theory of Predestination, an
all- powerful God had already determined whether people were going to
heaven or not when they were born. This predetermined denstiny could not be
changed during an individual's lifetime.
Lutheranism. N.d. Beyond Books. Web. 9 Dec. 2009. <http://www.beyondbooks.com/
eur11/3e.asp>.
Lutheranism and Calvinism were the mainstream, moderate
movements of the Protsetant Reformation. However, there were many radical
groups who sought to go much further. These groups preached ideas such as
pacifism, Biblical authority, and even polygamy. Because the views of some
of these groups were so extreme, they faced attack from both Catholics and
moderate Protestants. The most radical of these groups were known as the
Anabaptists. Originally founded by Conrad Grebel, the most obvious
distinguishing feature of the Anabaptists was the practice of adult
baptism. The term Anabaptist comes from the Greek, literally "to
baptize again". Anabaptists relied heavily on the Bible as the source
of religious authority. Because the bible did not mention the practice of
infant baptism, they refused to recognize it. Instead, they believed that
it made more sense ro baptize in adulthood when people truly understood its
meaning. the first rebaptism occured in 1525